The Freedom for Öcalan campaign have issued a statement regarding the recent visit to Öcalan and rumours of a new peace process with the Turkish state; view the original here.

Friends and allies

As the Freedom for Abdullah Öcalan: A Political Solution to the Kurdish Question campaign, we are pleased to announce that our collective efforts have played a vital role in piercing the first level of isolation on Imrali Island! As you have likely heard, the first face-to-face meeting with the Kurdish leader Abdullah Öcalan in over four years has taken place, marking the first words anyone has heard him speak in over 43 months.

On October 23, 2024, Omer Öcalan, the nephew of Kurdistan’s imprisoned leader who is also an MP in Turkey’s Parliament, was allowed to meet with his uncle on Imrali Island for over an hour and a half. This was the first time anyone had seen Mr. Öcalan since March 3, 2020, and the first time anyone had heard his voice since March 21, 2021.

Omer stated that his uncle was in “good health” and “sends his greetings to everyone”, which of course would include all of you, who have played such a pivotal role in ensuring Öcalan’s cause and philosophy reaches the wider world. Omer also passed along a message from his uncle, where Abdullah Öcalan reminded everyone that: “The isolation continues. If the conditions are right, I have the theoretical and practical power to move this process from the realm of conflict and violence to a legal and political framework.”

Now before we discuss the wider political ramifications of this momentous event and what it could mean for the Kurdish people and indeed the entire region, we feel it is important to take a moment and recognize this first achievement of our campaign, in what we intend to be Abdullah Öcalan’s eventual freedom.

For the past year our campaign together with you has intensified the pressure on the Turkish state and international institutions through rallies, protests, sit ins, letters, marches, hunger strikes, book days, concerts, information tents, and art shows. We have sent letters to the CPT, CoE, and UN, and garnered the support of 69 Nobel Laureates who did the same. In 50+ countries around the world we have held numerous events that have let Ankara, Brussels, Geneva, and all the global powers that conspire to isolate Abdullah Öcalan’s wisdom know that we will never give up.

This is why we believe that the Turkish state has finally decided to open a window regarding the isolation of Abdullah Öcalan and why they are now signaling through the MHP leader Bahçeli, a willingness to perhaps enter into a new phase of negotiations with the Kurdish leader. However, if Erdoğan and Bahçeli are serious about finding a solution, then Mr. Öcalan should be freed immediately, so he can play his role as chief negotiator for the Kurdish cause.

And while we remain cautious because of Turkey’s history of false promises, we also believe it is important to recognize this first achievement. Any full negotiations between Ankara and Imrali of course had to begin with reestablishing the first contact with Mr. Öcalan and his family. Now we would like to see the Turkish state take the next constructive step—which is mandated under international and Turkey’s own laws—by allowing him access to his lawyers, who he has not met with since 2019. Once regular contact between Mr. Öcalan and his family and lawyers is secured (which he is guaranteed under the Turkish constitution) then any potential negotiations can begin to hopefully bring about a lasting peace between Ankara and the Kurdistan freedom movement.

Of course, there are many reasons to remain suspicious or even skeptical, especially as the Turkish military continues to bomb civilian infrastructure (bread factories, water plants, energy stations) throughout Rojava and Southern Kurdistan, creating a situation where they claim to hold an olive branch in one hand, while steering an armed drone in the other.

Yet, we also realize that there is a seismic shift taking place in the Turkish political arena, and that our side is on the right side of history and has the momentum. This is why they are beginning to make concessions and why we will never give up. In fact, we should take this news as even more motivation to double our efforts as we now have tangible proof that our campaign is working and having an effect.

And it is within that spirit that we send you greetings and ask for your continued support as we pierce that next level of isolation and create an environment where Abdullah Öcalan can walk off Imrali Island as a free man and finally solve the century-old Kurdish question.

Always, until victory!